Method of extinguishing grass and similar fires



foR 1,849,411

March l5, 1932- A. J. SILVA ET AL METHOD oF EXTINGUISHING GRASS ANDSIMILAR FIRES Filed Jan. 2. 1950 2 VShea'elzs-Sheet 1 INVENTORS 'NS n".

March 15, 1932. A, J, S|| VA ET AL 1,849,411

METHOD 0F EXTINGUISHING GRASS AND SIMILAR FIRES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJan. 2, 1930 INVENTORS /LcLSl'LUa "faq, cl. Silva E" Q .um

ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 15, 1932 UNITED STATES .PATENT QFFICE .ANTONE J'.SILVA AND JOHN J'. SILVA, OF MILTON, CALIFORNIA METHOD 0FEXTINGUISI-IING GRASS AND SIMILAR FIRES Application filed January 2,1930. Serial No. 417,848.

This invention relates to a method of fighting fires and particularlyfor controlling and extinguishing grass, grain and similar fires whichif unchecked are of course apt to do considerable damage. Such firesalmost always occur in dry seasons when there is usually no availablewater to fight them or the amount is very limited, and operations suchas back-firing, digging fire breaking trenches, beating out the firewith damp sacks, or similar operations must be resorted to. rlhese arearduous and time consuming operations of sometimes no edectiveness.

The principal object of our invention is to devise a method of fightingfires of this character which consists in utilizing air as the means forextinguishing the fire, the air being directed and controlled in such amanner as to force the fire in the direction from which it hasaproached, so that it is not only halted in its advance but beingthrownback onto the burnt-over area soon dies from lack of fresh material onwhich to feed. The universally available substance-air-is therefore theonly element necessary and the presence or absence of water adjacent theburning territory is a matter of no moment.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus whereby thenecessary air blasts may be readily provided and rendered convenient tothe lire fighters.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensivedevice and yet one which will be exceedingly e'ective for the purposefor which it is designed.

These objects we accomplish by means of such structure and relativearrangement of parts as will fully appear by a persual of the followingspecification and claim.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the several views:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of our improved fire lighting apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View in diagrammatic form of the driving means ofthe air blast mechanisms. j

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the front end of the apparatus.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross section of the universal joint of theblower-unit.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on thedrawings, the

numeral 1 denotes in general a motor driven 55 truck of suitable design.Mounted on the rear end of this truck is a gas engine 2 separate fromthe truck engine, and driving an air compressor 3. A hand controlledclutch 4 in the driving connections between the en- 60 gine andcompressor enables the operation of the latter to be discontinuedwithout stopping the engine. This compressor feeds into one or morereservoirs 5 mounted on the truck and one or more lengths of fireresisting hose 6 of considerable extent connected at one end to thereservoir. The outer end of each hose carries a nozzle 7 preferably of aflaring mouth form; the hose being normally wound on and supported by areel or drum 8 70 mounted on one side of the truck.

Mounted on an extension frame 9 projecting in front of the truck properis a vertically disposed blower 10 which vanes 10a are preferably drivenfrom the engine. 2 by suitable 75 connections as at 11; a handcontrolled clutch 112 being interposed at a suitable point in suchconnections so that the operation of the blower may be discontinued whendesired without stopping the engine or interfering with the SO operationof the compressor. The intake 13 for the blower is at the back end ofthe same and preferably faces toone side of the truck so as not to drawair from immediately adjacent the truck engine, which as usual is diS-posed at the front end of the truck.

rlhe outlet 14 from the blower projects upwardly a short distance andterminates in a male ball element 15 which is universally turnable inthe corresponding female element ter of the joint and universallyturnable in a socket 20 mounted on the member 15. The outer end of thisbolt is adjustably secured by nuts 2l to a spider 22 secured to theconduit 17 adjacent the member 16.

The conduit 17 a short distance above the 1.00

ball joint turns outwardly and at a downward angle toward the ground,terminating at its outer end in a wide fiaring mouth 23, disposed aconsiderable distance above the ground at all times. Owing to theuniversal joint mounting of the conduit it may obviously be swung up ordown and from side to side as may be desired.

To control the up and down movement of the conduit a cable 24 supportsthe same toward its outer end, this cable being supported from a derrick25 upstanding from the frame 9. rI`his cable extends rearwardly of thederrick to and is wound about a hand controlled drum 26 mounted in aconvenient position on the truck. The rotation of the conduit iscontrolled by another cable 27 wrapped about the neck of the conduitadjacent the ball joint, the ends of this cable being wound fromopposite directions about another hand controlled drum 28. This drum ispreferably positioned adjacent the drum 26 so that the two may bereadily controlled by the same operator. The drums being some distancerearwardly of the blower and its dis charge conduit they can bemanipulated and the setting of the conduit controlled as necessarywithout danger of the operator being burnt.

In operation the truck is driven in front of the fire as close aspossible, the air compressor being operated .en route to provide asupply of compressed air at high pressure in the reservoir 5. If thefire is of a low nature not having high reaching flames it is onlynecessary to use the high pressure air. In doing this the operatorunreels the hose and manipulates the nozzle 7 so that a blast of airwill be directed toward the fire at its base and at the point offoremost advance so that the fire is blown backward or onto the areaalready burnt over. Since this area of course offers no fuel for thefire and the latter cannot advance toward the unburnt area it almostimmediately dies out.

If the flames are too high to permit of the effective use of therelatively small high pressure blast alone the blower is operated andthe conduit I7 is turned so that the nozzle 23 is positioned above thellames and in a direction such that the blast of air therefrom will blowdownwardly and toward the burnt area. The large blast of air from theblower therefore has the effect of blanketing and beating down theflames, as well as forcing them back. This enables the operator of thehigh pressure nozzle, while the blower is still thus functioning toapproach within close range of the fire, to direct his high pressure airstream against the sam-e in the manner as first described and with thesame results.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that we haveproduced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of theinvention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in de tail the presentand preferredconstruction of the device, still in practice such deviations from suchdetail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit ofthe invention, as dened by the appended claim.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and useful anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The method of extinguishing grass and similar fires consisting indirecting an air blast downwardly onto the flames from above and in thedirection from which the lire is approaching,l to beat down the flames;and while holding the flames thus beaten, directing air under pressureagainst the base of the fire at its point of furthest advancement in adirection to force the lire. back onto the burnt-over area.

In testimony whereof we ailiX our signatures.

ANTONE J. SILVA. JOHN J. SILVA.

